Germán Riesco
| Germán Riesco | |
|---|---|
Portrait by Cosme San Martín
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| 14th President of Chile | |
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In office September 18, 1901 – September 18, 1906 |
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| Preceded by | Aníbal Zañartu |
| Succeeded by | Pedro Montt |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
May 28, 1854 Rancagua, Chile |
| Died | December 8, 1916 (aged 62) Santiago, Chile |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse(s) | María Errázuriz Echaurren |
| Signature |  |
Germán Riesco Errázuriz (May 28, 1854 – December 8, 1916) was a Chilean political figure, and he served as President of Chile between 1901 and 1906.
He was born in Rancagua, the son of Mauricio Riesco, a Spanish merchant and of Carlota Errázuriz Zañartu, sister of President Federico Errázuriz Zañartu, of Basque descent. He studied at the Seminario Conciliar and at the University of Chile. At the age of 17 (four years before graduating as a lawyer) he obtained his first public job as a clerk at the ministry of Justice, in order to help support financially his family.
He graduated as a lawyer on April 19, 1875, and was promoted to chief clerk at the ministry in 1880. The same year he married his cousin, María Errázuriz Echaurren, thus becoming brother-in-law to future president Federico Errázuriz Echaurren. He became clerk of the Appeals Court of Santiago in 1891, and clerk of the Supreme Court in 1897. He retired from the judiciary in 1898, to dedicate himself to private practice.
Germán Riesco's first incursion in politics was when elected as a senator for Talca in 1900. After the sudden death of president Federico Errázuriz Echaurren and due to the proximity of the presidential elections, he was proclaimed candidate by the Liberal Alliance, on March 8, 1901. This alliance was formed by the radicals, the democrats, the Balmacedists and the liberals, even though Riesco was more of a Conservative.
From the beginning his candidacy was strongly opposed by the clerical-conservative groups. Their newspaper El Porvenir led a campaign accusing him of being a "threat against religion". Nonetheless, he was elected by a huge majority of votes, thanks mainly to the fact that he had almost no political exposure, since most of his life had been spent in the judiciary. Himself summarized his appeal by saying that he wasn't a threat to anybody. He assumed on September 18, 1901.
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